Breathing, why and just how important is it?
Increase your oxygen intake, improve your health, even control stress and emotions.
Oxygen and Our Cells
The cell is the basic unit of any living organism. There are around 37 trillion tiny cells in the human body. So small are these cells that we are unable to see them without a very powerful microscope.
There are lots of different types of cells. Key types include stem cells which are unspecialized cells and which have the ability to develop into specialized cells like:
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- Bone cells, mineralized connective tissue that comprise the majority of what is known as the skeletal system;
- Blood cells, Red that transport oxygen to tissue and remove carbon dioxide which is toxic to cells. White which are our immune system cells and platelets that help clot blood to prevent blood loss when we brake or damage blood vessels;
- Muscle cells which form muscle tissue enabling us to move;
- Fat cells, just for storing energy as protection in case food is scarce;
- Skin cells that form a protective barrier for organs, muscles etc.;
- Organ cells that form and provide function to different organs within the body;
- Nerve cells or neurons sending signals to the brain, spinal cord and other organs;
- Endothelial cells which form the inner lining of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems. The inner layer of blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, the brain, lungs, skin and heart;
- Sex cells, reproductive cells that bring new life into existence;
- Pancreatic cells that discharge hormones into organs and
- Cancer cells. Which unfortunately work to destroy the body when immune cells are lacking the energy to recognize and/or destroy them.
How do cells work?
All cells require nutrients in order to perform the function that they are designed for. Nutrients come in the form of glucose and minerals initially supplied by what we eat and drink, plus oxygen.
Food and liquid cells can store. Oxygen they cannot store. Which is why we can go without eating or drinking for days but we cannot go without breathing for more than a few minutes.
Cells basically either burn fat to create energy to perform their function within the body or store fat.
When we do not bring enough oxygen to our cells they function at less than optimal levels. To conserve what energy they do have less than optimal cells will store fat instead of producing optimal energy.
That doesn’t mean that cells are not producing some energy it means they are not producing to their full potential.
Oxygen
Breathing is critical to life.
While alive we all breathe so we are always introducing some oxygen, even while our conscious mind is busy doing other things, even asleep.
If you try to consciously hold your breath then within minutes your unconscious mind will step in and overrule you, forcing you to breath. After all, part of the unconscious minds job is to keep you alive, and we cannot do that without breathing.
Oxygen is a basic and necessary element for the life of each and every cell within the body. An element that is usually overlooked.
When we are supplying the right amount of oxygen, through our lungs to our blood which is pumped to our cells, then cells perform to the best of their ability. They do not need to store fat, energy levels increase dramatically, our rate of metabolism increases, and our cells function efficiently.
Energy levels increase, your immune system and your health improves. Lungs also expel waste toxins such as carbon dioxide and dead cells that we need to remove from the body.
In summary by increasing oxygen intake we become healthier. However, most of us are not introducing enough oxygen for our cells to function properly especially as we get older, most people intake only 1/5th of what the body needs.
They survive but so many things within the body are unable to functioning properly, our immune system unable to do its job and we start to get sick. So slow and so subtle is the change that usually we don’t even notice it until we experience some severe illness.
When you do introduce the oxygen level that your body needs then everything starts working properly.